We are VR: Meet Charles White

Transcript of video:

Transcript – “We Are VR: Meet Charles”

(CHARLES WHITE) My name is Charles White. I am here at Agility Manufacturing, Dover, New Hampshire. I started here at Agility Manufacturing about 18 months ago. I'm an IPC specialist. I build PC boards. I put components in them. I'm in the post wave department, in which I see all the boards after they're done. I do any work to them, any soldering that needs to be done, any that are backwards, I flip them around and send them down the road for testing. It's all good. I like the soldering, the moving about. I still have a lot of mobility with my hands so I can get into some places from being a past welder. I had some pain in my back, back in the 1990s. And back and forth to the doctor, MRIs. It's an apathy with my feet. When I went into the hospital to get a cyst repaired on my spine, actually, I came out in a wheelchair. For about, now, 25 years I've been in this wheelchair. Before this, I was a runner. I ran 3 miles in 12 minutes and 12 seconds. And to lose these dogs, here, I call them, was very hard. It hurts. I went to Vocational Rehab for assistance for work. I was tired of sitting on the couch. I did big interviews. They sent me to a few companies. When they told me to come here, it was like the next day. It was just what I wanted. My fingers were working, I was fusing things together and building—just building boards.

(LISA HINSON-HATZ) My name is Lisa Hinson-Hatz, and I'm the Vocational Rehabilitation director at VR New Hampshire. Vocational Rehabilitation is a state and federal partnership that helps individuals with disabilities obtain and maintain employment. It also helps businesses hire individuals with disabilities to meet their workforce needs. Individuals that are interested in services will call, set up an appointment, have an intake appointment where the counselor gets to learn all about them. 

(CHARLES WHITE) My counselor, he was great. He was really phenomenal. They got me to school, 18 weeks to get re-certified for soldering again, 5 days a week, 4 hours a day. It is very hard to find somebody you can get your credentials for, to learn how to solder again. So that was good. That was very good. I’m tickled pink!

(CAROL HORNE) My name is Carol Horne. I am the HR Manager here at Agility Manufacturing, located in Dover, New Hampshire.

(REGGIE MICHAUD) My name is Reggie Michaud. I'm General Manager of Agility Manufacturing in Dover, New Hampshire.

(CAROL HORNE) Chuck was our first candidate that came through the VR program. We work with the State of New Hampshire's on-the-job training fund. And when we have needs, we start with them. They connected with VR, who sent Chuck to us as a candidate. He went through our interview process, and then he went through the state’s on-the-job training process before he converted over to become a direct Agility employee.

(REGGIE MICHAUD) One of the great things about Chuck is that the program he came here through put a lot of effort into his upfront training. So, they trained him in some of the standards required for doing this type of business. So, he came in with a baseline that allowed us to push him further up in his evolution here quicker. I believe Chuck just had a desire to do something productive. He wanted to be productive. He wanted to be active. And whatever was going on with him, with his physical condition, he wasn't limited here. He was able to just come to work. We made some accommodations for him, but he was able to do everything that anybody else can do because he had the skill set.

(CHARLES WHITE) Work is very important to your brain, to yourself, to your mobility. You need to keep the muscles flowing. You need to keep the blood rolling. And you just can't sit there and sulk. It's a whole new ball game when somebody is out there trying to help a disabled person. This is what VR is. It's not about them. It's them helping you. 

(LISA HINSON-HATZ) Work is important to all of us. All of us need something to focus our time on, focus our passions on. And individuals with disabilities are no different.   

(CHARLES WHITE) Oh, I'm alive again. I am definitely alive. My mobility is like (pshh!). I just don't walk, but I do about everything else! Gracefully for VR, here I am, 18 months. This place is fabulous, it’s golden. It’s like home. It does take a little time, and patience is the second thing. Just have some patience and you'll succeed. To the moon!

(LISA HINSON-HATZ) We are VR.

(CAROL HORNE) We are VR.

(CHARLES WHITE) We are VR!

(NARRATOR) At VR New Hampshire, we transform the lives of people with disabilities by helping them prepare for, obtain, and succeed in meaningful careers. To learn how we can help you meet your employment or workforce goals, call 603-271-3471 or visit education.nh.gov/vr.